Swimming & Diving Completes Big 12s
February 28, 2015 10:12 PM | General
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| Jaimee Gillmore placed fourth in the women's 100-yard freestyle to earn All-Big 12 honors on Saturday night.
Photo by Conrad Stoll |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams completed the fourth and final day of competition at the 2015 Big 12 Swimming & Diving Championships earlier tonight at the Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center in Austin, Texas.
“We finished really well,” said coach Vic Riggs. “Though we couldn’t get away from the DQ bug that has followed us all week, it was really great to see so many seniors swim their last races tonight.”
The Mountaineer men finished third in the conference, while the women placed fourth.
“This team’s character can’t be expressed in words,” Riggs said. “You needed to be here and live this week to realize how difficult a week this was on them. They did a tremendous job and for both teams to swim as well as they did is a true testament to their character and desire to finish the job.”
Saturday's action was highlighted by a school record set by the men’s 400-yard free relay team of Andrew Marsh, Nate Carr, Ross Glegg and Tim Squires. The group earned All-Big 12 First Team recognition with a second-place finish in 2:54.04. The time of 2:54.04 broke the previous school record of 2:55.10 set last season.
The men’s 200-yard backstroke A Final saw Jay Hickey garner All-Big 12 honors with a sixth-place finish in a season-best time of 1:46.60. Nathan Cobbe placed eighth in 1:54.53. In the B Final of the event, Triston Mosby (1:48.90), David Palley (1:49.42) and Chris McMahon (1:51.77) finished second, third and fifth, respectively.
In the women’s 200-yard backstroke B Final, Taylor Gill led the way with a first-place finish and a season-best 1:58.92. Amelie Currat placed second (2:00.86) and Courtney Miller finished fifth (2:02.41).
“Taylor had a great 200 back to lead us off followed by Jay’s in the men’s,” Riggs said.
Jaimee Gillmore swam to All-Big 12 Second Team honors in the A Final of the women’s 100-yard freestyle. Gillmore’s season-best time of 50.15 earned her a fourth-place finish in the conference. In the B Final of the event, Celia Martinez placed seventh in 52.59.
Three Mountaineer men earned spots in the A Final of the men’s 100-yard freestyle and all three raced to All-Big 12 honors. Tim Squires led the way with a second-place finish in a season-best 43.43. Andrew Marsh finished fourth in a season-best 43.59 and Ross Glegg placed sixth in a season-best 43.96.
“Jaimee continued her great meet in the 100 and the trio of Ross, Tim and Andrew all had great swims,” Riggs said.
Emma Skelley posted a time of 16:38.05 to earn All-Big 12 honors in the women’s 1,650-yard freestyle, placing third overall.
In the men’s 1,650-yard freestyle, James Koval claimed All-Big 12 honors with a fifth-place finish in 15:34.76. Pierce Bradshaw finished eighth in the event in 16:14.23.
“Emma swam a very solid mile with her best time,” Riggs said. “Also, James dropped 12 seconds in his mile for his best time.”
The men’s 200-yard breaststroke A Final was well represented by West Virginia competitors. Max Spencer led the way in third in 1:57.41 to earn All-Big 12 First Team accolades. Nate Carr placed fourth in 1:58.87 and Aidan Fumagalli finished seventh in 2:05.08.
In the B Final of the women’s 200-yard breaststroke, Jenelle Zee placed second in a lifetime-best 2:16.80. Morgan Emter finished sixth in a season-best 2:19.82.
“Jenelle had a great last 200 breast, and Nate, Max and Aidan all swam very well,” Riggs said.
Julie Ogden snagged another All-Big 12 First Team honor in the women’s 200-yard butterfly. Ogden placed third overall in the A Final in 1:59.13. Natalie Johnsen finished sixth in 2:01.45, earning All-Big 12 Second Team recognition.
In the men’s 200-yard butterfly A Final, Chase Williams hit the wall in fifth place in 1:47.99 to earn All-Big 12 distinctions. Austin Green placed seventh in 1:50.15 and Nathan Howells finished eighth in 1:50.60.
“Our fliers did a great job and all had best times, led by Julie and Chase,” Riggs said.
In the men’s platform diving event, Alex Obendorf claimed second place to earn All-Big 12 First Team honors with a score of 299.90. Michael Proietto and Logan McHenry earned All-Big 12 Second Team recognition, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively, in the event.
“It was a great final day for the male divers. They put it together on tower and capitalized on the opportunity to score some points for their team,” said diving coach Michael Grapner. “Having all four guys in the final was a big achievement for the men, especially since we don’t have tower to train for the event.
“Alex Obendorf set the bar high for the men as the only freshman. He will just keep moving up. All of the boys continue to improve and recognize their potential.”
The women’s platform diving saw Haily VandePoel placed fourth overall with a score of 222.60 to earn All-Big 12 honors. Jennifer Rey finished eighth in the event with a 179.10 mark.
To cap off the championships, the women’s 400-yard freestyle relay team of Jaimee Gillmore, Julie Ogden, Amelie Currat and Celia Martinez teamed up for a fourth-place finish in 3:24.71.
“Our relays did a great job and the diving helped secure a fourth-place team finish for the women,” Riggs said. “As banged up as this women’s team is, that is a great accomplishment.”
Texas swept the meet with the Longhorn men and women both claiming the conference crown.
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